John Carreyrou’s latest nonfiction book, released by Alfred A. Knopf almost automatically became a New York Time bestseller, and I longlisted by the McKinsey Book of the Year and Financial Times Award. According to the New York Times, the book reads like All the President’s Men, only a West Coast version of it.
Told by the award-winning journalist, Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in Silicon Valley offers the full story of the rise and breath-taking scandalous collapse of a Multibillion-dollar biotech start-up. It is seen through the eyes of the journalist who first uncovered the truth and then despite threats by lawyers and pressure from the CEO pursued the story until the shocking end.

The Full Inside Story of the Rise and Fall of Theranos

Elizabeth Holmes, CEO and founder of Theranos, was thought to be following in the footsteps of Steve Jobs. It was 2014, and the talented Stanford University dropout had the medical industry in turmoil with her machine that promised to revolutionise the industry, make blood testing significant easier and faster. The project back by big investors such as Larry Ellison and Tim Draper enabled Theranos to use a fundraising round to sell shares worth $9 billion. This puts Holmes net worth at $4.7 billion (estimated).

While it all sounds wonderfully well, there was one major problem, and that was that the technology never worked. John Carreyrou tells it all. Bad Blood is about the fascinating story of about corporate fraud in Silicon Valley.

The book Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in Silicon Valley Startup is now a movie starring Jennifer Lawrence

Elisabeth Holmes, founder of Theranos, was only in her early 20s when she promised that her new technology could do all blood test via only a few drops. It was exciting for the medical industry who never expected that it was a typical scandal, one in which nothing goes as planned. Theranos management had to lie to keep their overpromising and underdelivering a secret. Theranos threatened staff as it was the only way to cover up so many shortcomings.

It did not take long before management expected something was to come from the WSJ. Still, Homes managed to get another investment from Rupert Murdoch, once she got the private investment worth $150 million she did everything she could to talk him into ending the WSJ story, at the time he owned WSJ.

Theranos Never Worked

Despite the claims, lies and promises, Theranos never worked, the blood tests used to sell the idea came from standard equipment, it was the results of what they tried at Walgreen and then later claimed was the result from their machines. Theranos finger-tip blood testing was a scam that cost investors millions. A world changing idea so many wanted to believe in, yet it was an idea of a manipulative and charismatic twenty-year college drop-out that costs the famous millions.